It’s the equivalent of putting a can of petrol into your car’s tank so you can drive to the nearest garage. But there’s a second benefit too — most electric cars can’t be towed and must be transported with all four wheels off the ground. That’s often inconvenient and slow to arrange, especially in busy city centres.

Being able to give EVs a quick boost to get moving seems like a great idea. The RAC’s first six vans with EV generators will be deployed in June to London, Birmingham and Manchester. As electric cars become more popular, I expect the system will be fitted to more patrol vans.